According to UNHCR report there is dire need to help Iraqi refugees to have access to education facilities for their children in exile. Report quoted that families who escaped to Syria, hounded from their homeland Baghdad at the end of last year by death threats had have to begin a new struggle as refugees. Reportedly parents are turned down from schools for there is no place to adjust the new comers. One of the family state their plight “We tried to get our four boys and our seven-year old twin girls into school when we arrived, but they told us again and again that the schools were full and there is no space for our children. We cannot put them in a private school, which costs more than $600 per child. We are barely surviving ourselves.” To get 155,000 Iraqi children back into schools, UN refugee council has already launched an appeal for $129 million. Up till now more then 2 million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries hoping for safety. Primarily people fleeing from violence and terrorizing situations to Syria and Jordan where they end up in other set of problems; access to health and education facilities are only two of them. It is estimated that 300,000 Iraqi school age children only in Syria of whom only 33000 are attending school. According to Jordanian government’s estimates 19, 000 Iraqi children are in fee charging schools whereas at least 50, 000 are not enrolled in any school. ‘’The goal is to get another 100,000 Iraqi children into school in Syria; 50,000 in Jordan; 2,000 in Egypt; 1,500 in Lebanon and 1,500 in other countries in the region.’’ UNHCR has set a hotline in Syria, one of the recordings states the plight of Iraqi father who is trying to get his children registered in the school. He is been asked to wait till September to know if There will be a place for his children after accommodating the local students. It is important to know that one best way to get out of Iraq to the safe borders of Jordan or Syria is to ensure that ones child is enrolled in school. UNHCR and UNICEF are planning to work with collaborative partners and local governments to figure out ways to help out of school refugee children and adolescents. The programme aims to provide help and support to 12,000 poor and vulnerable families through outreach programmes, capacity building of existing schools and identifying new buildings to use as temporary schools, Rehabilitating existing schools, upgrading water and sanitation in schools and also informing Iraqi refugees about opportunities to get their children back into the schools. To put this programme into action more than 4,000 teachers will be required and huge funds required to cover remuneration, training and special costs for instance; providing support to children who have gone through traumatic experiences. Seeing the high influx of refugees, UNHCR intends to do similar programmes in Jordan
No comments yet.